[coverattach=1]MADISON, Ill., May 2, 2009 – A rain-abbreviated schedule at this weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals shortened time trials to just two sessions, but that didn’t stop Kurt Johnson from turning in one of his best qualifying efforts of the season. The ACDelco driver posted a 6.576 e.t. at 210.21 mph in Saturday's first round of Pro Stock qualifying, and that gave him the No. 3 starting position for Sunday's eliminator.
"It makes you think a little more because there's so much pressure to get a perfect hit in the first round," Johnson said in reference to the weather-shortened qualifying format. "Hopefully it's good enough so that you can really get after it on the second hit. We made the decision to get after it on the first hit, not be conservative and try to get that No. 1 qualifying spot. We only missed it by three-thousandths of a second. I'm pretty pleased with the performance of the ACDelco Chevrolet."
If Johnson has been looking for a combination of power and consistency out of the ACDelco Chevrolet, he certainly found it today. His 6.576 e.t. in round one put him No. 3 in the field, and during the second qualifying session, the ACDelco Chevrolet made another strong run with a 6.590 second e.t. at 209.88 mph. That was also the third quickest run of the final session, and Johnson's top speed of 210.21 mph in round one is the third fastest so far this weekend.
"At Las Vegas and Atlanta, we went out there on Saturday morning, were a little conservative and that cost us lane choice," Johnson said. "At Atlanta we didn't run very well, were 16th and barely got in there. I don't want to be in that position. We decided to get after it, tried to make as aggressive of a run as we could on the first hit to see if it would go A to B, and it did."
The ACDelco Chevrolet driver has gone to the finals three times at St. Louis, and all three times he's walked onto the winner's podium. First in 1998, the second race in which the NHRA had returned to Gateway International Raceway, a more youthful Johnson defeated Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the championship round. In 2005 Johnson defeated Greg Anderson in the finals and his most recent win at Gateway International Raceway came last year when he took out Dave Connolly in the final round.
"Some places, it's hard to figure out why you've had good success – you just seem to find the winner's circle," Johnson said. "And I don't care why, or how it happens, or how the car runs, as long as I get there."
Currently eighth in the Full Throttle standings, and the winner of 39 career national events, Johnson has never been more convinced of the ability of his race team. Tomorrow he'll race Steve Spiess in round one of eliminations. The two met earlier in the year in round one of the ACDelco Gatornationals with Johnson taking the win.
"I think we can run with the pack tomorrow," Johnson said. "It's a matter of leaving first and not looking back."
The No. 1 qualifier this weekend in Pro Stock was Greg Stanfield who drove his Pontiac to a 6.573 e.t. at 210.37 mph (track record).
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday May 2. NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 3 also on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, and ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 3.
ACDelco is a global leader in high-quality automotive replacement parts and related services and offers quality aftermarket products for all makes and models, plus GM original equipment replacement parts.
"It makes you think a little more because there's so much pressure to get a perfect hit in the first round," Johnson said in reference to the weather-shortened qualifying format. "Hopefully it's good enough so that you can really get after it on the second hit. We made the decision to get after it on the first hit, not be conservative and try to get that No. 1 qualifying spot. We only missed it by three-thousandths of a second. I'm pretty pleased with the performance of the ACDelco Chevrolet."
If Johnson has been looking for a combination of power and consistency out of the ACDelco Chevrolet, he certainly found it today. His 6.576 e.t. in round one put him No. 3 in the field, and during the second qualifying session, the ACDelco Chevrolet made another strong run with a 6.590 second e.t. at 209.88 mph. That was also the third quickest run of the final session, and Johnson's top speed of 210.21 mph in round one is the third fastest so far this weekend.
"At Las Vegas and Atlanta, we went out there on Saturday morning, were a little conservative and that cost us lane choice," Johnson said. "At Atlanta we didn't run very well, were 16th and barely got in there. I don't want to be in that position. We decided to get after it, tried to make as aggressive of a run as we could on the first hit to see if it would go A to B, and it did."
The ACDelco Chevrolet driver has gone to the finals three times at St. Louis, and all three times he's walked onto the winner's podium. First in 1998, the second race in which the NHRA had returned to Gateway International Raceway, a more youthful Johnson defeated Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the championship round. In 2005 Johnson defeated Greg Anderson in the finals and his most recent win at Gateway International Raceway came last year when he took out Dave Connolly in the final round.
"Some places, it's hard to figure out why you've had good success – you just seem to find the winner's circle," Johnson said. "And I don't care why, or how it happens, or how the car runs, as long as I get there."
Currently eighth in the Full Throttle standings, and the winner of 39 career national events, Johnson has never been more convinced of the ability of his race team. Tomorrow he'll race Steve Spiess in round one of eliminations. The two met earlier in the year in round one of the ACDelco Gatornationals with Johnson taking the win.
"I think we can run with the pack tomorrow," Johnson said. "It's a matter of leaving first and not looking back."
The No. 1 qualifier this weekend in Pro Stock was Greg Stanfield who drove his Pontiac to a 6.573 e.t. at 210.37 mph (track record).
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday May 2. NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 3 also on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, and ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 3.
ACDelco is a global leader in high-quality automotive replacement parts and related services and offers quality aftermarket products for all makes and models, plus GM original equipment replacement parts.
